


Beautiful Drug

by EloquentDossier



Category: Criminal Minds
Genre: (for Hotch not Jack), Alpha Reid, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Canon Compliant, Fluff and Angst, Happy Ending, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, M/M, No mpreg, Omega Hotch, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Slow Build, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-02-19
Updated: 2016-02-19
Packaged: 2018-05-21 07:08:35
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,174
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6042688
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EloquentDossier/pseuds/EloquentDossier
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In a world where everyone is given scent blockers to hide their secondary genders from the rest of society, people are given chances they normally wouldn't have, and find their true mates not through scent but through a different, innate biological pull.</p><p>Aaron Hotchner, an Omega whom everyone thinks is an Alpha, isn't so certain he wants to meet his mate.</p><p>Fickle fate has other plans, however.</p><p>xxx</p><p>Or that one where no one expects that Hotch is an Omega and Reid is an Alpha, and neither man intends to find his true mate, especially not in each other.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Beautiful Drug

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So after taking the time to transfer everything to a numerical system, this fic beat the undercover one by fourteen points. This will actually start pre-series, though I don't plan on it taking more than a couple of chapters to get to season one. I'm going to focus on specific episodes, so there will be some time skipping, but nothing will happen between Hotch and Reid for... a little while. (Sorry.)
> 
> For now, we have a somewhat short prologue. Hope you enjoy!
> 
> **Warning for implied/(more-so) referenced child abuse and spousal abuse.**

The sun had set hours past; stars glittered the midnight sky, winking down at the world below. The moon was full, and wisps of clouds swept by, softening the bright glow radiating from it. Moonlight filtered into rooms through blinds and windows, casting incandescent patterns over floors and furniture. The silence that accompanied the gleam would have been peaceful but for the hammering of Aaron's heart as he listened intently for the sound of footsteps outside his room. His entire body ached—some places worse than others—but he could endure more, and _had_ endured more before.

The door opened almost silently, making the barest clicking sound as the hinges moved. Aaron relaxed when he saw the slight frame of the person entering his room. If his mother was coming in with their plastic tub full of first aid supplies, then his father must have finally passed out in his spot on the couch. Neither of them spoke as the dark-haired woman walked across the room and perched beside him on the window seat, setting the "kit" at her feet. 

The eleven-year-old turned his gaze to the trees just outside their fenced-in backyard, allowing her access to his worst wound: a nasty scrape just beside his left eye, a (hopefully) shallow gash where his father had broken a bottle against his head when he'd finally gotten home and the scent of a newly-presented Omega had been coming off of him in waves. The pills he'd been given to block his true scent wouldn't take affect for a few days, and until then, he wasn't permitted to go to school. He wasn't sure if that was actually a blessing; not with how angry his father was at the revelation of his secondary gender.

He winced as his mother started gently wiping blood from around the cut, pulling him from his thoughts, and he curled his hands into fists on his lap. "I'm sorry I'm not an Alpha," he whispered, feeling an almost hopeless desperation. "I wanted to be one, to protect you."

A soft sigh passed his mother's lips, and he saw her shake her head in his periphery. "Our secondary genders don't define us. You have more strength and determination than most Alphas could ever dream of, and you've been protecting me for years." She paused, and he heard her swallow convulsively before she continued, her voice trembling slightly, "I should be the one doing the protecting. You don't deserve this burden."

Aaron set his jaw, biting back the words he wanted to say but refused to utter. He loved his mother, and he knew she had taken the brunt of his father's mental and physical abuse for far too many years. It was unfair to speak the words that would only hurt her more than anything his father could ever do or say. Instead, he allowed silence to reign once again, his gaze lifting to the stars that had never granted a single wish for him. He'd learned two years ago that he would have to work for everything he wanted in life; no silly wish-making would amount to anything.

He sucked air in between his teeth when he felt something being pulled out of his wound, his eyes lighting on the reflection of him and his mother in the glass to see her using a pair of tweezers to pull out what was likely a shard of glass. Wanting a distraction, he asked the question he'd had to wait years to know: "How do people know they're mates if they can't smell each other?"

His mother hummed, and he barely resisted the urge to turn and look at her. He knew she was smiling; he didn't have to see the way her hazel eyes lit up, but he wanted to. It was a rare thing to witness lately. "You waited longer to ask than I expected. You've always been such a curious child, and much more intelligent than I could have prepared for. It's always been something I could proudly declare to the other parents. I was gifted with a bright, athletic son who always worried about others and did everything in his power to make everyone feel special."

Heat crept up Aaron's neck and stole into his face and ears. "Mom," he interjected before she could continue, and he heard her laugh softly as she started wiping at his head with a wet cloth. It stung a little, but he didn't betray any discomfort aside from his embarrassment.

"It's different for everyone. Someone's scent isn't integral for determining your mate. Honestly, all that does is cause more confusion because of the pheromones given off. You could be attracted to anyone based purely off of his or her scent, but that doesn't mean you've found your mate," she explained. A light layer of some soothing balm was gently applied to his wound, and he felt some tension leave his shoulders. "Some know right away. For others, it could take months or even years. We were in the years category. To start with I had only a vague interest in him, though as nothing more than friends. Over time that slowly altered, and I saw him in new ways, intriguing ways. We were drawn to each other almost inexplicably; back then he hadn't been marked by his experience as a lawyer yet. He would turn to me to discuss cases he found difficult, and it was one such evening that he kissed me. I was shocked by my own response, and I jerked away and locked myself in the bathroom until I calmed down. He stared at me curiously when I came back out, and I told him to never do that again."

There was a short pause as she concentrated on placing the bandage over the laceration. Her words were tinged with amused nostalgia as she murmured, "And then I kissed him. He was so confused, but he did as I asked. For months after that, not once did he kiss me, but I kissed him. The best explanation I've ever heard in reference to mates finding each other is that the other is like a drug. You may not realize how addicted you are to one another until later, but when you're without them it's almost like an itch you can't scratch." Her voice was slightly tremulous when she spoke next. "That's why I endure. I know it's unfair to you, but I can't leave your father. Finding your mate is like discovering something beautiful; you truly feel alive for the first time. Just thinking about leaving that behind makes me feel hollow inside."

Aaron felt his heart clench painfully in sympathy, and he wrapped his arms around his mother, pressing his face against her shoulder as her body shook with silent sobs. He ignored his own stinging eyes and swallowed around the lump in his throat, wondering if finding one's mate was truly as worthwhile as people were led to believe.

A small, pathetically hopeful part of him answered, _Yes._


End file.
